Am J Psychiatry 1985; 142:175-181
Copyright © 1985 by American Psychiatric Association
The behavioral high-risk paradigm and bipolar affective disorder, VIII: Serum free cortisol in nonpatient cyclothymic subjects selected by the General Behavior Inventory
RA Depue, RM Kleiman, P Davis, M Hutchinson and SP Krauss
The degree of biologic concordance between bipolar affective disorder and
cyclothymia was assessed within a 3-hour protocol of cortisol functioning.
Cyclothymic subjects, selected by the General Behavior Inventory, showed
cortisol hypersecretion approaching that of subjects with major affective
disorders; they also showed poor modulation of cortisol levels over time,
the degree of which was related to increased current level of depression
and to a chronic, intermittent depressive course. These results not only
support the validity of the General Behavior Inventory but also suggest
that cyclothymic subjects with a chronic depressive course may experience
persistent biologic disturbance similar to that found during episodes of
major depression.
